Investing.com – Here’s a preview of the top three things that could rock markets tomorrow.
1 ECB's Lagarde in Spotlight
The European Central Bank is under new leadership with Christine Lagarde at the helm, but there's little change expected on the monetary policy front.
With the ECB widely expected to keep rates unchanged, Lagarde's news conference will be closely monitored for commentary on policy for 2020. Her communication style will also draw attention as many are keen to see how it will differ from her predecessor, Mario Draghi.
The update on ECB staff projections will also be in the spotlight.
In September, the eurozone central bank forecast GDP growth at 1.1%, 1.2% and 1.4% in 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively. Headline inflation, meanwhile, was expected at 1.2%, 1.0% and 1.5% over the same period.
2. Pound on Watch Ahead of U.K. General Election
U.K voters will go back to the polls on Thursday in an election widely seen as a proxy for a second referendum on the EU.
The ruling Conservative Party, led by Boris Johnson, has promised to deliver Brexit. Johnson is seeking a parliamentary majority to pass his Brexit deal. The main opposition, the Labour party led by Jeremy Corbyn, has promised to hold a Brexit referendum soon after winning a general election.
Moves in the GBP/USD will likely capture trader expectations of a potential Labour or Conservative victory. In the lead-up to the election, the pound has been rampant as polls show the Conservative party holding a lead, albeit slender, over Labour.
Gains in sterling on a Conservative victory will likely run out of steam in early 2020 as the market "realises that Brexit hasn't gone away and is most certainly not done," said John Goldie, FX dealer at Argentex.
3. U.S. Wholesale Inflation Due
Wholesale inflation figures arrive Thursday, a day after U.S. consumer prices topped economists' forecasts.
The Labor Department will issue the producer price index (PPI) report at 8:30 AM ET (13:30 GMT).
On average, economists expect that the PPI rose 0.2% last month with the core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2% from 0.3% the prior month.
That would bring year- over-year PPI growth to 1.2% and core PPI growth up to 1.6%.
The PPI is considered a leading indicator, measuring the input prices for goods sold at a retail level.
On the heels of the wholesale inflation report, the Labor Department will release its weekly count of the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance.
Economists forecast that initial jobless claims came in at 213,000, down from 203,000 the previous week.